SAN FRANCISCO --The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) has secured $10.9 million in federal and state funding to help customers pay off past due utility bills that accrued during the pandemic, including $7.3 million for water debt and $1.2 million for Hetch Hetchy Power debt. Customers will begin seeing credits on their bills in the coming weeks. The amount will vary based on individual past due amounts. The SFPUC also secured an additional $2.4 million in debt relief for CleanPowerSF customers. CleanPowerSF customers enjoy clean power procured by the SFPUC but continue to pay one PG&E bill. Those credits are expected to begin showing up on customer bills as early as this month.
The SFPUC is also in the process of applying for more than $2 million in wastewater debt relief, which would be distributed to customers later this spring.
On Tuesday, March 1, 2022, the SFPUC also launched its new Customer Assistance Program, which provides a 25% discount on water and sewer services and a 30% discount on Hetch Hetchy Power services for households with low incomes. The new program features a streamlined application that takes less than 10 minutes to complete. SFPUC customers can check their eligibility and apply for a water and sewer discount at www.sfpuc.org/25offWater and a Hetch Hetchy Power discount at www.sfpuc.org/30offPower.
The SFPUC also further extended the moratorium on shutoffs, liens, and late fees for non-payment of bills. The moratorium on shutoffs for non-payment of bills will be extended through June 30, 2022 for retail customers, through July 31, 2022 for residential customers not enrolled in the SFPUC Customer Assistance Program, and through August 31, 2022 for customers enrolled in the SFPUC Customer Assistance Program. The moratorium on late fees for non-payment of bills has been extended through June 30, 2023.
“As we recover from this pandemic, we know a lot of people are still struggling under the weight of the last two years,” said Mayor London Breed. “Our City agencies are doing everything they can to be creative in finding ways to lift up all of our residents. This great work by the SFPUC, with critical support from the federal and state government, reflects that mission and will provide badly needed resources to so many."
“The pandemic has been tough on everyone. We recognize that,” SFPUC General Manager Dennis Herrera said. “This is an agency with a heart. We’re making sure we’re doing our part to help people get back on their feet. This relief funding is direct help for those who struggled to pay their bills during the pandemic. We’re also making it easier to apply for our discount program and giving customers more time to get their finances in order. As we emerge from this latest phase of the pandemic, our focus is on compassion and getting people onto the path of financial sustainability.”
Working to make utility services more affordable for communities facing systemic barriers is critical to the SFPUC’s mission and intersects with the agency’s Racial Equity Resolution passed in July 2020. Like utilities across the country, the SFPUC has seen a rising crisis of affordability. Since the pandemic began, the number of accounts in debt has risen almost 375%, and the average single residential account now owes more than $1,100 in back utility bills. Utility debt is disproportionately concentrated in parts of the city with larger populations of Black, Indigenous, and communities of color; people with low incomes; and people who speak languages other than English.
The SFPUC applauds the Biden Administration, Speaker Pelosi and our federal legislative delegation, Governor Gavin Newsom, and the California State Legislature for providing significant funding for utility debt accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic through two new visionary programs, the California Water and Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program and the California Arrearage Payment Program for energy utility debt relief. These programs will help millions of people across the state by providing direct bill credits to customers’ accounts to significantly lower debt loads for households struggling to make payments. Both programs are currently limited to debt accrued between March 4, 2020 and June 15, 2021. Given the ongoing need, the SFPUC is working with the Governor and the Legislature to extend the timeframe for eligible debt and/or allocate additional funding for both programs through this year’s state budget.
Since public utilities need non-rate revenue sources to assist customers who cannot pay their bills, the SFPUC will continue to work with state and federal partners to support debt relief programs that support households with low incomes and set them on the path to financial sustainability for essential water, power and wastewater services. At the federal level, we strongly support establishing and funding a permanent program for water and wastewater bill assistance, similar to the longstanding Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program in the energy sector.
Throughout the pandemic the SFPUC has taken action to support customers who lost income as a result of COVID-19. The agency launched emergency assistance programs that provided discounts to more than 6,000 residential, small business, and nonprofit customers. The agency also suspended water and power shutoffs due to late payments, postponed liens and collections, waived late fees, and provided rental payment deferments for tenants of our facilities.
About the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is a department of the City and County of San Francisco. It delivers drinking water to 2.7 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area, collects and treats wastewater for the City and County of San Francisco, and generates and delivers clean power for municipal buildings, residential customers, and businesses. Our mission is to provide our customers with high quality, efficient and reliable water, power, and sewer services in a manner that values environmental and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care. Learn more at www.sfpuc.org.